Abstract : Despite many references to the procedural autonomy of Member States in the current case-law of the European Court of Justice, this notion remains to be defined. This contribution recalls its origins and elaborates on the reality it seems to encompass nowadays in the case-law as well as in the legislation of the European Union, highlighting the lack of clarity of limits that go along with the notion.

Résumé : Les références à l'autonomie procédurale des États membres sont de plus en plus nombreuses dans les arrêts de la Cour de justice de l'Union européenne. Toutefois, les contours de cette autonomie procédurale restent flous. Cette contribution revient tour à tour sur l'origine de la notion et la place qui semble aujourd'hui être la sienne aussi bien dans la jurisprudence que dans la législation de l'Union européenne, mettant l'accent sur l'aléa casuistique et le manque de clarté législative des limites qui l'assortissent., Despite many references to the procedural autonomy of Member States in the current case-law of the European Court of Justice, this notion remains to be defined. This contribution recalls its origins and elaborates on the reality it seems to encompass nowadays in the case-law as well as in the legislation of the European Union, highlighting the lack of clarity of limits that go along with the notion.